George Russell set the fastest time in the only free practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix, edging out Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris ahead of the Sprint qualifications to be held later in the day. Russell, driving for Mercedes, showed strong performance as the session moved into the evening on the Marina Bay circuit. Teams had just one hour to prepare their cars before the first qualifications as part of the Sprint weekend, a new format introduced to add more excitement to the race weekend. During the session, drivers primarily used the hard tires, switching to the soft tires in the final quarter of an hour. On a track that still has some unpaved sections, Russell set a reference time of 1'32''274, keeping his lead until the end of the session. Leclerc came very close, finishing just 0.198 seconds behind, showing Ferrari's strong form on a track that seems to suit their SF-26 car. Lando Norris took third for McLaren, 0.075 seconds behind Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton, driving the second Ferrari, finished fourth, nearly half a second behind Russell. Oscar Piastri completed the top five, 0.564 seconds behind Russell, ahead of Max Verstappen, who finished sixth at 0.732 seconds. The top six drivers were all within less than eight tenths of a second, with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull represented at the front. However, some of the gaps may not be as significant as they seem, as Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli set their best times using the medium tires instead of the soft ones. Verstappen, the current championship leader, finished seventh, 1.251 seconds behind Russell, while Isack Hadjar took eighth with the second Red Bull, 1.449 seconds behind the reference time. Pierre Gasly placed his Alpine ninth, 1.764 seconds behind Russell, ahead of Liam Lawson, who finished tenth for Racing Bulls at 1.881 seconds. During the session, several teams ran short relays with minimal fuel, likely to simulate conditions for Saturday's Sprint race. The times from these simulations were close to the fastest laps, indicating that teams are preparing strategically for the upcoming events. The session passed without major incidents, except for a technical issue faced by Nico Hülkenberg. The Audi driver had to stop his RS26 near the exit of the pit lane. The stewards intervened to recover his car and return it to the garage. Audi confirmed that Hülkenberg had a technical problem whose cause is still under investigation. The team is now focusing on preparing for the Sprint qualifications while continuing its probe. With Russell leading the way, Ferrari performing strongly, and the gaps between the top teams relatively small, the competition for the Sprint pole position looks set to be highly contested. However, the performance of Verstappen and Antonelli, who used medium tires for their best times, remains an important variable ahead of the qualifications.